Trapped in Two Worlds
by ranmafan1
Summary: A young boy grows up, but does not at the same time.


Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Ranma ½ or any other trademarked/copyrighted product in this fanfiction. They were created by people a lot more imaginative than me. I am also not making any money off of this. This is merely for entertainment purposes.  
  
Trapped in Two Worlds  
  
by ranmafan1  
  
Prologue  
  
Let it be known that Genma Saotome was an idiot (for those of you who have not read, seen, or heard of that name before). Although he was a premier fighter (one capable of creating two dangerous schools of techniques), outside of martial arts the man was a complete fool. Several days ago, he came across a book filled with forbidden training regimens. One fighting style named the Neko-ken immediately caught his attention.  
  
The training for the technique was surprisingly simple to his eyes, which was always a plus in Genma's books since it required less effort on his part. All he had to do was dig a pit, fill it was a couple of dozen starved cats, wrap his boy in fish sausage, and repeatedly toss him into the frenzy. The only requirement that the booklet mentioned in order to learn the technique was that the child be between the ages of six to ten, and luckily (from Genma's perspective) his child had recently turned six old years old! Thoughts of his son being unbeatable at such a young age danced through Genma's mind.  
  
This brings us back to the original point of Genma being a moron. A loving parent would normally be appalled by the thought of putting his or her child through such an ordeal to learn a technique. However, Genma lacked many of the finer qualities of a loving parent (or a human being for the matter), including common sense.  
  
As the training progressed, Genma could only shake his head in resignation as his son was unable master the Neko-ken. He began to ponder over the predicament in his head. His son seemed to have developing fear of cats as time went on, and this was unacceptable. No student of Anything Goes, especially his own son, was going to have such a weakness! Of course, Genma's limited mental capacity failed to connect the dots that being clawed by dozens of cats would make a child afraid of them.  
  
Three weeks later.  
  
'Okay, so maybe the Neko-ken was not the best idea,' Genma reluctantly admitted to himself a full week after Ranma completed the 'training.' The heavyweight martial artist picked at one of the white bandages he had wrapped around himself. Of course, the boy would show his gratitude in such a fashion. Looking back at his son trailing slowly behind him, Genma frowned at Ranma's slacking walk. Taking on the 'gruff sensei' mode, Genma bellowed at his son, "Boy, keep up the pace! How do you expect to inherit the Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial Arts by acting so weak and girlish!"  
  
Grumbling a bit, but attempting to speed up, Ranma responded, "I don't feel so good, Pop. I feel kinda weak all over."  
  
Frowning deeply, Genma took a closer examination of his son. 'The boy does look pretty pale. Hmmm..he probably just has the flu or something.' Briefly, the man thought of bringing his boy to a doctor, but he immediately squashed that thought. 'What doesn't kill the boy will only make him stronger.' Satisfied with his own logic, Genma barked out, "No excuses, boy, now let's get going!" Grudgingly, Ranma nodded and started to walk a little faster, which made Genma nod in approval.  
  
Little did Genma consider how sick Ranma might actually be. Of course, what does one expect from tossing a boy continuously into a pit filled with half-starved cats that had been in there for several days. The simple equation was that numerous open wounds plus unsanitary conditions equals big trouble for little Ranma.  
  
A couple of days later.  
  
Now Genma was starting to get a little worried. His son seemed to have an increasingly difficult time getting up each morning. Just this current one, Ranma coughed up some blood. In addition, Genma's own limited ki senses even could feel how a dangerous amount of Ranma's life force was leaking from his body. Grudgingly, Genma admitted that maybe Ranma should indeed see a doctor. However, he was going to check his backpack for anything that could help in the meantime. 'Hmm.maybe something of the *shivers* Master's can help out.'  
  
Just before they sealed the drunk Happosai into the cave, Genma quickly searched the ancient man for anything valuable on him while Soun went to get the explosives. The Saotome man was a bit surprised (and disturbed) on how much his master could store on his person, though Genma decided not to dwell on that fact too much. Most of what he found was pretty useless and was promptly put back since there was no need for such items. Also, they would not get him much money so why bother going through the trouble of carrying those objects. One particular item puzzled Genma greatly. He could not really understand why Happosai was carrying around a mirror of all things. At last, the martial arts master was able to find some ancient looking scrolls that he assumed had techniques written on them. Genma considered himself lucky that he was able to pocket a few before Soun returned.  
  
There was simple reason why Genma was so secretive about stealing from Happosai. Basically, Genma wanted to find something to give him an edge in training in his heir. He may be the best of friends with Soun, but they were also rivals, although the latter seemed not to dwell on that fact too much.  
  
Genma did not actually ever look over the scrolls before today since he and Soun celebrated quite heavily that night (in other words, they were completely drunk). Afterwards, Genma figured that he could review them on the trip sometime. Now that he was looking through the scrolls, the martial artist was being greatly disappointed. Most of them dealt with on the best ways to steal women's undergarments, though that was unsurprising considering the source. Even though Nodoka would probably be pleased with Ranma learning such techniques, Genma himself did not really want to make another Happosai out of Ranma. Then Genma remembered the seppuku pledge, which made him reevaluate the usefulness of those scrolls. 'Maybe the boy can learn those techniques later.'  
  
'There has to be something here that I can use,' Genma thought to himself. He was aware that many martial arts masters were able to heal themselves quite easily using their ki. Happosai himself was a prime example with some of the beatings he got when caught by a group of women. Picking up another scroll, Genma glanced at it with little hope, but then his eyes widened upon discovering the content.  
  
Almost giddy with anticipation, Genma jumped to his feet. "Boy, starting today you are going to learn a new technique!"  
  
That decidedly made Ranma very nervous, especially considering the last training he went through. Looking at his father warily, the boy asked, "It doesn't involve a pit does it?"  
  
Grinning ear-to-ear, Genma responded, "Nonsense, boy. In fact, you won't have to do barely anything at all."  
  
Blinking a few times, Ranma guardedly inquired, "Um, what's this technique called, Pop?"  
  
Solemnly crossing his arms, Genma stated in an all-knowing fashion. "Today, boy, you begin to learn the dreaded Happö Go-en Satsu technique!"  
  
End Prologue.  
  
Author's Notes: Well, I am finally doing a non-crossover for a change of pace. I have had this idea for a long time and decided to write it up. With respect to Happosai having all of those scrolls on him, just assume that he knows a variation of the Hidden Weapons technique (how else does he store all those bombs on him at any time). Also, one can make a theory that the Nanban mirror would not work for Happosai in the cave due to the wardings put on the boulder. Anyway, I guess that is it for now. Comments and criticism would be appreciated.  
  
-ranmafan1 


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